1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate to a nanoparticle generator, and more particularly, to a nanoparticle generator in which volume is remarkably reduced and can be minimized.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, nanoparticles are ultra-fine particles of about 1 nm to 100 nm, and have peculiar physical properties distinguished from bulk materials due to surface area geometrically increased due to their particle size.
In other words, the smaller the size of a particle, the higher the ratio of atoms present on the surface of the material due to the increase of surface area. In view of thermodynamics, the energy level of atoms constituting the surface of a material is higher than the energy level of atoms existing inside the material. This is the so called “quantum size effect”, and due to this effect, nanomaterials have higher energy levels per unit atom than the energy level per unit atom of bulk materials. Due to the quantum size effect, nanoparticles have peculiar chemical and physical properties such as improved strength or melting point, and high activity when used as a catalyst.
Nanoparticles are manufactured by gas condensation. In particular, nanoparticles are generated by condensing gas generated when a material is heated in low-pressure inert gas or air. A conventional nanoparticle generator using the gas condensation will be described as follows.
The conventional nanoparticle generator includes a main body provided in the form of an electric heating furnace for forming a high-temperature heating atmosphere, a tube passing through an inner side of the main body, a vessel disposed at the central portion to accommodate material for manufacturing nanoparticles, and a heating body installed between the inner wall and the outer wall of the main body to correspond to the position of the vessel.
Thus, in a state of allowing a fluid such as low-pressure inert gas, air, or the like to flow through the tube, when the heating body is heated, the temperature of the inside of the main body is increased to heat the ceramic tube so that the inner temperature of the ceramic tube is increased. Thus, when the temperature of the material is greater than a predetermined temperature, gas is generated due to the vaporization of the material. The generated gas is carried away from the heating body and condensed by the fluid flowing through the tube, thereby generating nanoparticles. The generated nanoparticles are transmitted outside of the main body by the fluid.
Recently, sterilizing materials, such as silver, gold, or the like, or noxious gas absorbents such as carbon, titanium dioxide, or the like are made into nanoparticles such that the sterilizing ability of the materials are remarkably enhanced, and there are various efforts to apply such materials to electric home appliances.
Thus, it can be expected that nanoparticle generators using bactericides and removing noxious gas will be installed in an electric home appliance such that nanoparticles generated from the material are supplied to the indoors, thereby enhancing ability of the electric home appliance to kill bacteria and remove harmful gas.
However, the conventional nanoparticle generator heats the inner space of the tube, in which the material is installed, and a space between the tube and the inner wall of the main body, due to the heating body installed between the outer wall and the inner wall of the main body. Thus, since there must be guaranteed a sufficient space between the heating body and the material, it is difficult to minimize the conventional nanoparticle generator. When the conventional nanoparticle generator is installed in an electric home appliance, the electric home appliance is remarkably increased in size.